LIFE IN ITS HOUR OF PERIL
My name is TOKUNBO, I was born on 3rd July 1977 in a village called PAMUKURU village in NIGERIA, I started my conscious life when I entered primary school in 1982. I have friends that we were playing together in our village, we accustomed to the norms and values of our village and our culture is known to us as a village. In our village, there wee no electricity, borehole, road or other things count as civilized properties, everyone in the village were farmer and there was no civilized people in our village because everyone were illiterate in our village. We only believe in village life style and its living pattern because we embraced our situation and love the village life. We were ignorant of so many civilized things since we have no idea of how they look like, we love village life because almost every ages range are friends to each other and the village play was so interesting. All our future and purpose is how to get something to eat from farm and live long but we little know there is a sweeter life than what we were enjoyed because we used to heard of urban region crises and hard living life. This is where I was brought up and all my mentality in this environment of the village.
I have a close friend named IFEOLUWA, he is my friend because our houses is very near each other, although both of us always fight and quarrel as a child but still we were still close friend. There is a play that usually occur between we children of the village every night there was moon and its named BOJUBOJU (someone we close his or her eyes while others will go and hide somewhere and the person will be looking for them and anyone he or she is able to find and touch will take his or her position in find), we love this play and we always pray for night to come in time not only because of the play fun but also because of our aim to touch our female bombom (bottom), I and Ifeoluwa have no other aim and ambition whenever we wanted to play but to be touching our female bombom, there was a girl called Folashade in our village, I liked her very well but she always visits my friend Ifeoluwa and people used to called them husband and wife, then I always feel rejected and unhappy because I felt no one likes me.
On one bojuboju night, I followed Folashade to hide into a corner of a stone and I made up my mind to touch her bombom, I then pretended as if someone is coming to catch and touch us and I fell on her and shouted he is coming just as an opportunity but no one is coming, immediately I fell on her, I felt some emotion and I started open my pant but Folashade rose up and ran away, I felt embarrassing and discouraging, I felt she will tell but all my worried is not able to touch her bombom naked.
In our village, everyone were Christian and they believed in 20 commandment in the bible , I ran home immediately Folashade ran away, I don’t tell anybody what happened but my mother always notice my emotion and my feeling, she asked me what happen and I told her noting. The next morning was a Saturday, I saw Ifeoluwa coming to our house and I felt like enter the ground because I was shocked and suspecting may be Folashade had told him because his eyes was looked somehow, I cried aloud and said Mummy! Mummy!! Mummy!!! I will tell you what happened, mummy felt the emotion that there was something disturbing my heart since yesternight and I started crying and said I will tells you before Ifeoluwa arrived, mummy urge me to go ahead but I was scared, I said mummy I did BOJUBOJU yesternight and she said O`yes is a normal norm of the village, Ifeoluwa arrived immediately and said we did it together, I was shocked and thought in my heart may be he also did the same thing to Folashade, I then further asked him and said so you opened your pant too, he also thought am calling BOJOBOJU advance name and he said I did bojuboju too, I felt his response that he didn’t understand what is going but mummy can read my emotion and what is going on within me but I refused to talk.
My friend Ifeoluwa was a stammered and many female children in our village always been around him and all my thought was that they hanged around him because he is deficient in speaking, I felt to be deficient too to have many female friends as he did but no avail of all my effort to be stammer.
One day, we were coming from school from school, our school was at our neighboring village and we have to trek for 1 hours from the neighboring village (school), we have different fruits on the way to our village, as we were coming on this faithful day and all of us used to walk together, everyone said they wanted to drink the mangoes and because FOLASHADE is among the people, I then give myself down to climb the tree, I did and I saw that is very ripe somewhere hidden on the tree, because I anted to satisfy Folashade, as I wanted to plucked the mango, unfortunately I fell on the ground and my people took me home but tragedy part of it was that one of my leg was broke and they need to cut off because it go beyond repair. I saw different female friends in my house everyday and I was so happy and said if I would have known since, I would have cut off one of my body part for along because I reasoned female girls like people with deficient and I thought I will even have more friends to me because my situation is more critical than his, mummy discover that instead of me to be crying, am rather rejoicing every day. Two months after the incident, I didn’t see anyone of them anymore, I felt displeased and unhappy again, Ifeoluwa came to my house one day and told me that everyone in school were chosen me as their daily topic to embarrassed and mocked, I cried aloud and I felt my life is useless here on earth because I always see life without friends as a dead life. Not quite long that some of my class mate came to my house and I asked them if what Ifeoluwa said is true, then one replied and said do you think we came here because we love/like you but just for us to have new topic of discussion in school tomorrow, I shouted and my anger was kindled, I picked up a cup to hit him but one of them collect it from and I was so displeased even to my self. I was so sad through out this stage of my life.
I resumed back to school to continue my education and because of the incident, am a year below my classmate. Ifeoluwa was still a good friend of mine, I was always unhappy in my life because anywhere I amin school, they will chose me as their topic and be mocking me, I was unhappy and I decided not to be in any association even during break hours i will rather remain in my class, all my day was always in pain and sorrow because I always crying alone in my class during break time. On one wonderful day, I saw a man walked up to my class room during break period and sat beside me in the class, he said di I know him and I replied NO, I don’t scared of anyone anymore because am even thinking to die will be even better that anyone who need my life should come and take it but the man said he wanted to be my good friend, all my thought was that he wanted to kill me but he gave me some words and left, he said “I am the only one to make myself happy with the help of God to change all my sorrow to joy if only I put on victorious mind that no any man on earth can make me happy but me and God alone.” I was felt different and my life was becoming a joyous life, all my classmate can see the difference in me and am imagine if I can have a true loving friend like this, we close for that day and I went home and my mummy called me because she can felt the difference in me but I told her noting. This came the next day at the same hour and I was felt excited to see him, he talked to me and I asked me what I can do to make myself happy and he replied that I should concentrate on my book and becoming the best in my school I was confused because I `m not intelligent and he said I can do it, I believed him and I tried my best in that second term of primary five in school and I got second position, it was like a magic because I was dullard. I was so excited that I did that, they organized quiz in third term and 1st and 2nd position will go the quiz, I was so excited that I am part of the quiz and my friend Ifeoluwa was the one usually took second position in his class primary six. On the day of the quiz, immediately we left the assembly ground, I was in the class singing, rejoicing and thinking in my heart that the whole school will know that I am the one carried 2nd position in my class today but unfortunately our said she don’t trust me and thereby I can be part of the quiz, I furiously asked with tears in my eyes why sir? And he replied because I have no do something of this kind before and he chose FRANCA that took 1st position and Oluwatobi that took 3rd position, I cried aloud and every in my class were laughing, I remembered my secret friend immediately and I went out of the class into a secret place, I then called him and he appeared and said my ingrate friend, you only call when you need my help and am not ready to help, I shouted and cried aloud that you said your grace is sufficient for me and please show me the sufficiency and he said he will have mercy that I will be the partaker of the quiz, I believed is word because as a young child, I entered into the class back with a joyous face and my classmates continued in their laughing but am still smiling and rejoicing, I still full of hope and believe because of what my secret friend told me , it was 12pm noon and we went into the school hall, I kept rejoicing in the hall and people don’t understand.
The coordinator called the participants to the front and I still kept my hope intact but guess what happened, I just believed I will be among those that will participate, school headmaster entered immediately and said we can change our former style today by making them three participants from each classes, I was so excited and I shouted thank you sir, our headmaster did not understand but our teacher called Durotoye that got 4th position, my anger was kindled and I called my headmaster and told him that I took 2nd position and I was not called for the quiz, he was angrily too and my teacher was trying to justified himself but I was put there by the headmaster of the school, I was so excited and it was surprising to everyone in the school. As we sat down, I saw my secret friend came in and no one saw him I was so excited and said you are welcome my friend but everyone was looking at me if am normal or there was something wrong and my secret friend told me to keep quite that he will be tell the answer only that I should not disturb myself, I did and I became the best in the quiz, I was so excited and our headmaster congratulated me and gave me my gift and I went away into a secret place to greet and worship my secret friend.
TO BE CONTINUE